http://mmajunkie.comWith his past four losses coming in title fights, it would be easy to wonder if Urijah Faber was some kind of jinxed these days when gold is on the line.

Faber (26-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) last held a belt more than four years ago as the WEC’s featherweight champ. If cats have nine lives, fighters certainly have fewer. A fifth straight loss in a title fight might have critics wondering how many more shots “The California Kid” will get.

But with his UFC 149 interim bantamweight title fight against Renan Barao (28-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) looming on July 21, Faber on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) this fight is just as important as the other shots he’s had.

“There’s always a sense of urgency when I’m in a fight,” Faber said. “That’s the way I approach things. I feel like over my career, in some way, shape or form, most of my fights have either been title fights or fights to get in title fights. So it’s hard to really say one has more sense of urgency than another.”

In Faber’s 15 combined fights with the WEC (where he went 9-3) and UFC, 10 have been title bouts. And four other victories came in what amounted to title elimination fights. So when Faber talks bout urgency, he’s not exaggerating.

The urgency this time around was supposed to come against bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Faber’s nemesis. The two coached against each other on “The Ultimate Fighter Live” all spring. But when Cruz blew out an ACL, he hit the shelf.

In stepped Barao, who brings a 29-fight unbeaten streak to the UFC spotlight. Now Faber will have to get past the highly touted Brazilian – the bantamweight division’s next big thing – if he wants another crack at Cruz.

“For me, everything is about being the best, and if I’m fighting Barao now, I’m not thinking about Dominick at all,” Faber said. “I could (not) care less about Dominick Cruz. The only reason I think about him is because I have to. And right now, I don’t have to – so I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”

Faber still perhaps has a bitter taste in his mouth from his UFC 132 title fight against Cruz. Cruz won a unanimous decision with widely varying scores – 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47. It’s a fight Faber still believes he won.

So clearly, even though he’s focused on the task at hand – Barao – a win at UFC 149 would help erase a little of that memory. And in theory, it would lead directly to a third fight against Cruz, with whom he has gone 1-1.

“I felt like last time I fought Dominick Cruz, I had a sense of urgency there,” Faber said. “I know it was a very close fight, but I thought I did enough to win. So in my mind, this is a fight that I need to win, but it’s just kind of like the rest of them – go out there and make sure you fight till the bitter end and give your all and be focusing on winning.”

UFC president Dana White, while probably not thrilled another of his titleholders is on the shelf with an injury, believes the Faber-Barao fight was something of an inevitability, anyway. It just will happen sooner rather than later.

“I truly and honestly believe the top three in that division are Urijah Faber, Renan Barao and Cruz,” White said. “Whether Urijah Faber or Renan Barao win this fight next weekend, it’s up to them. I think those three guys are the best in the division, anyway, and … they’re going to fight after they fight Cruz, anyway. I would personally love to see the winner of this fight stay active until Cruz is ready and then fight Cruz, but we’ll see what happens.”

UFC 149 takes place at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Main-card fights, including the Faber-Barao headliner, air on pay-per-view, while prelims air on FX and Facebook.

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